This invention relates to a folding door arrangement for a cotton harvester with an onboard module builder and method of operation of the same, and more particularly, to a door arrangement including a linkage which drives and facilitates the unfolding of the door arrangement without binding while a cotton compacting structure of the builder is being tilted from a module building position to an unloading position, and which also facilitates the easy re-folding of the door arrangement after unloading.
Cotton module builders which are separate from a cotton harvester and utilize a cotton compacting structure including a cotton compacting chamber having an open end enclosed by a pivoting door or gate when in a cotton compacting mode, are well known in the art. Reference in this regard, Haney et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,425, issued Jan. 22, 1980 to Cotton Machinery Company, Inc., which discloses a typical known cotton module builder. The known cotton module builders such as the Haney et al. device typically have an open bottom and sit on the ground, a concrete pad or other suitable surface, as cotton is compacted in the module builder for forming the cotton module on the ground or other surface. The top of the compacting chamber is open for receiving cotton to be compacted. The front and sides of the compacting chamber and the pivoting rear door or gate which forms the rear end of the chamber are typically tapered, at a rate of about 1 inch inward for each 12 inches of vertical rise. This taper facilitates the removal of the module builder from the completed module and allows for the expansion of the sides of the cotton module to a more vertical orientation after removal of the module builder. Removal of the module builder when the cotton module is complete typically involves pivoting the rear door or gate upwardly out of the way, lifting the module builder by its tires or other means from the cotton module, and towing or driving the module builder off of the module using a tractor or the like. Once clear of the module, the rear door or gate is pivoted down thereby closing the rear of the module builder and the module builder is lowered onto the ground ready to form the next cotton module. The completed cotton module can then be picked up by a cotton module truck and transported to the cotton gin for further processing.
Cotton module trucks are well known in the art and are specifically used to transport a cotton module that has been created in the field by a cotton module builder. Reference in this regard, Lindsey U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,514 issued Nov. 13, 2001 to Module Truck Systems, Inc., which discloses a typical known cotton module truck. The cotton module truck transports the cotton module to the cotton gin and unloads it for further processing by the cotton gin. The cotton module truck consists of a flat bed with vertical front and side walls attached to the bed and a cover on top. It is open at the rear to facilitate the loading and unloading of a cotton module onto or off of the flat bed from the rear of the truck. The flat bed typically has drag chains running parallel to the bed front to rear. The drag chains move along the bed and are reversible to facilitate loading and unloading of the cotton module. Vertical clearance of the module truck bed to the ground is equal to or less than that for standard over the road hauling trucks and can vary according to state regulations. Typically, a cotton module is about 7.5 feet wide by 7.5 to 8.5 feet high by 32 feet long. The module truck bed is typically about 9 feet wide by 36 feet long. If covered, the height from bed to cover is sufficient to handle 8.5 feet high modules and stay within state height regulations for over the road hauling trucks. Total length of a module truck is typically 48 feet or less. For loading and unloading, the module truck bed typically tilts such that it forms an angle to the ground with the rear of the bed near the ground. The angle the bed forms to the ground is sufficient to allow the loading and unloading of the cotton module from or onto the ground without fracturing or breaking the module apart.
Advantageously, current known cotton module trucks are separate from cotton harvesters, and because the trucks do not have to traverse difficult terrain or provide clearance for the crop to pass underneath during use, they are typically lower to the ground compared to a cotton harvester. This makes it easier to unload a cotton module from the truck. To facilitate loading and unloading, the bed of the module truck can pivot about a point that is approximately half way along the bed. Thus, the rear of the bed will come close enough to the ground and obtain the needed angle with respect to the ground for unloading of the cotton module onto the ground without the need for a rear door or gate to drop down, and the rear of a module truck is typically open.
Presently, it is desired to provide an onboard module building capability for cotton harvesters, including a door or gate structure constructed and operable for safely unloading a completed or partially complete module from the module builder, which will be relatively high above the ground or other surface onto which the module is to be unloaded. Due to the required height of the module builder above the ground for traversing fields and a maximum angle of about 25 degrees that the door or gate can be oriented relative to the ground to avoid damaging the cotton module during transition to the ground or other surface, the door or gate structure will have to be relatively long and/or the module builder lowerable. However, when the harvester is in a transport mode for travel over public roads and thoroughfares, the height of the door or gate cannot exceed governmental restrictions on the overall height of cotton harvesters, in order to safely pass beneath utility lines and bridges.
According to one preferred aspect of the present invention, a folding door or gate arrangement and method of operation thereof for use with an onboard module builder of a cotton harvester and which provides the above discussed properties, is disclosed. The cotton module builder includes a cotton compacting structure including a cotton compacting chamber having an open end, and a floor located in the chamber, at least the floor being tiltable to a tilt or unloading position so as to extend downwardly toward the open end so as to be oriented at a predetermined incline relative to a surface lower than the module builder for unloading cotton from the chamber onto the surface. The folding door or gate arrangement includes a primary door segment mounted to the cotton module builder for pivotal movement between a folded or closed position in at least partially closing relation to the open end and an unfolded or open position at least substantially parallel to the floor, and a secondary door segment pivotally mounted to the primary door segment. The door arrangement additionally includes a primary door driver arrangement connected between the cotton module builder and the primary door segment operable for pivotally moving the primary door segment between the closed position and the open position, and a secondary door driver arrangement connected between the primary door segment and the secondary door segment operable for pivotally moving the secondary door segment, without binding or potentially damaging loads being applied, between a generally upstanding folded position generally parallel to and beside the primary door segment and an unfolded or unloading position oriented at the predetermined incline relative to the surface lower than the module builder and in contact with or in close proximity to the surface. To achieve this capability, the secondary door driver arrangement includes at least one fluid cylinder pivotally connected between the primary door segment and a link element pivotally connected to the secondary door segment, the fluid cylinder being extendable for pivotally moving the secondary door segment from the folded position to the unfolded position, and the link element being pivotable through a predetermined range of pivotal positions when the fluid cylinder is extended and the secondary door segment is in the unfolded position for allowing the primary door segment and the floor to be pivoted relative to the secondary door segment into at least generally coplanar alignment therewith at the predetermined incline relative to the surface so as to provide a straight inclined path for unloading cotton from the chamber onto the surface, without placing a potentially damaging bending load on the fluid cylinder.
According to another preferred aspect of the invention, the at least one fluid cylinder is additionally retractable for pivotally folding the secondary door segment relative to the primary door segment from the unfolded position to a partially folded position between the unfolded and folded positions, and the link element is pivotable relative to the fluid cylinder through a predetermined range of pivotal positions when the secondary door segment is in the partially folded position for allowing the secondary door segment to be pivoted by gravity to the folded position, also without binding or placing a potentially damaging bending or side load on the fluid cylinder.
According to still another preferred aspect of the invention, a self-propelled cotton harvesting machine is disclosed, the cotton harvesting machine including at least one harvesting unit for harvesting cotton from cotton plants as the machine is moved in a forward direction over the ground. The machine includes compacting structure including walls and a floor defining a cotton compacting chamber for receiving the harvested cotton and a compactor operable for compacting the cotton received in the chamber to form a unitary compacted cotton module within the chamber. The machine includes at least one conveyor element for conveying the harvested cotton from the at least one harvesting unit into the cotton compacting chamber, and apparatus for unloading the compacted cotton module from the cotton compacting chamber onto a surface lower than the compacting chamber, including a door element mounted for movement between a generally upstanding closed position in at least partially covering relation to an open end of the compacting chamber and an open position at least generally coplanar with the floor, at least one driver operable for tilting the door element and at least the floor of the compacting structure to an incline at an angle with respect to horizontal or the surface lower than the compacting chamber of between about 10 and about 25xc2x0, while positioning an edge of the door element opposite the compacting structure in contact with or adjacent to the surface lower than the compacting chamber, and at least one cotton driver operable for moving the cotton module over the floor and the door element and into contact with the surface lower than the compacting chamber.